Somalia: Puntland Leader's Plea for Environment

The president of Somalia's self-declared autonomous region of Puntland, Gen Mahmud Muse Hirsi, has appealed for help in tackling an environmental emergency caused by increased charcoal burning, which has been compounded by greater numbers of displaced people since 1992. Hirsi said due to the influx of displaced people and drought-induced displacement of pastoral communities - which pushed them to urban areas - more acacia trees are being burned for charcoal.